CONCERT REVIEW : TONY LUCCA & FRIENDS

tony Lucca

with guests: Derik hultquist / Luke Preston / Matt santry

9/30 - philadelphia, pa - milkboy

MILKBOY (Chestnut Street Location) is one of ELECTRIC's absolute favorite venues in the city to see a show. An upstairs attic-style venue, with a stage only big enough to comfortably fit two to three musicians, Milkboy is the true definition of a "dive bar", but in the sense of an articulately set and styled dive. Milkboy sets their concert-goers up for an evening of nostalgia, good music and good memories.

First up was local musician, Matt Santry, who warmed up the room's vibe with a short set of his material, even casually looking at his phone to choose which songs he would play. We have to say that it was truly refreshing to see a musician get up on a stage, slightly unprepared, and perform off of the pure crowd vibes. Santry even stopped at one point for himself and the crowd to listen to fireworks that everyone heard, but what happened to just be a marching band going through the streets down below.

Next up was new comer Luke Preston, who we have to say that although only with a short setlist, somewhat stole the show. We were able to appreciate not only Preston's rockish-boyband style, but his vocals were also up to par - Preston even sang acapella during one of his songs. His vibe was something fresh and new, something we hope to see blow up on the music scene soon. At the end of his four song set, the crowd was visibly left wanting more.

Third up was Lucca's second tour buddy, Derik Hultquist. A storyteller as well, Hultquist set the tone for the remainder of the night. Acoustic-style tunes with a bit of a rock 'n' roll edge. With a bit of a comedic twist, Hultquist rounded out his set by leading the crowd into a sing along that took over the entire upstairs of Milkboy.

Left To Right: Lucca / Hultquist / Preston : Milkboy - Philadelphia, PA

Finally, it was time for Tony Lucca to take the stage. Donning a black tee that read "Italian" (something that I, myself, can appreciate, being a fellow Italian-American), Lucca began his set with a few new tunes. Perhaps the most interesting thing when seeing Lucca at one of his live shows is the time he takes to explain the history of his songs and how they came to be, something that has been lost amongst the age of arena production tours. It's nice to still see that some musicians appreciate their craft and do not take every track's subject intensely serious. Lucca, during a range of request songs, even went on to tell a story of how his song "Love You A Ton" came to fruition. During a fan-interaction promotional experiment during his earlier career, Lucca asked fans to send him ideas for potential songs and he would, in return, try his best to actually do just that, craft the idea into a living, breathing song. With what would go on to be one of his most popular tracks, Lucca wrote the lyrics by way of a couple, at the time, who sent him their love story and how they would always tell each other "I love you a ton" before ending their calls or saying goodbye. The song, an essentially perfected wedding song, is what gets the crowd going every single time. Lucca then brought Derik and Luke back up, who seamlessly found their way from the back bar, through the crowd, to the stage, where the trio then performed a song together. After what seems to be a well orchestrated jam session, Lucca resumed to solo form and rounded out his set with a few more new tracks and even performed, for the first time, a new song he had recently written in Nashville for a publishing house for an upcoming Blake Shelton album. Tony Lucca is the perfect live performance if you're ever feeling like you need to see something that is musically stripped down and raw; a musician and his guitar.